


Veela

by paperscribe



Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: M/M, Magical Realism, Veela
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-14
Updated: 2014-02-14
Packaged: 2018-01-12 06:04:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1182763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperscribe/pseuds/paperscribe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James has always known he was part veela. But that never meant anything before today.  Written for lewis_challenge's Valentine's Weekend Love Spectacular.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Veela

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MistressKat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressKat/gifts), [tetsubinatu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tetsubinatu/gifts), [pushkin666](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pushkin666/gifts).



Melodies didn't often occur to James when he was at work, but today was different. There'd been a song running through his head all day, and it was only in the afternoon that he realised it wasn't an existing song. He decided to take a tea break, which was why he was at the sink, filling a mug with hot water as he hummed to himself. The song was a lively one, and James moved a bit to the music as he hummed.

"Nice," Lewis said.

James whirled round, a bit embarrassed at being caught indulging in his music at work. "What?"

"The song."

"Oh." James smiled. "Thank you."

Lewis moved a bit closer. "D'you need any help with that?"

"What?" James looked at the mug, then back at Lewis. "No, thanks…it's just tea."

"Oh." Lewis looked faintly disappointed.

James set a tea bag brewing in the water and then turned to Lewis. "Did you want tea?"

Lewis seemed not to be paying attention, staring absently into space a moment before shaking his head and looking at James. "Sorry, what?"

James smiled. "I asked if you wanted tea. Still thinking about the case?"

"Right," Lewis said. "The case."

James waited for more information, but none was forthcoming. To be honest, he wasn't exactly sure what was going on. "…did you want tea?" He should stop asking that question, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Hm? No, I just…heard you singing…" Lewis frowned, looking toward the doorway and then back at James.

"Oh," James said, trying to act as though this ridiculously awkward sort of casual conversation happened every day.

Lewis pointed to the door. "I should…go. The case."

"Right," James said.

"Right." Even then, Lewis spent what seemed like another five minutes (though it was probably only thirty seconds) looking at James before turning and leaving the room.

James frowned after him, wondering what that was all about. But his tea was nearly ready, and focusing on that took his attention away from the strangeness of the prior conversation.

Besides, he had a song to write.

***

James caught himself humming and tapping the steering wheel as he was driving Lewis home. "Sorry. I'm writing a song and I want to make sure I don't forget it before I can get to my guitar and work out the chords."

"Sing all you like. I don't mind," Lewis said.

James smiled. "That's very kind of you."

"I think it's kind of you," Lewis said, with that soft tone to his voice he'd had earlier, in the tea room.

James glanced at him, frowning. "I'm not sure what that means." He was still tapping his hand on the steering wheel in the rhythm of the song, even though he wasn't humming at the moment.

"You have lovely hands," Lewis said.

All other thoughts, including those of his song, flew immediately out of James's mind. "Sorry?"

"Should I not have said that?" Lewis sounded worried.

"I…don't know," James stammered. "What…what do you mean?"

Now Lewis sounded almost annoyed. "How many meanings are there for 'you have lovely hands'?"

"It might be code! Or…slang," James said weakly. "You have lovely hands might be rhyming slang for…erm…I like punk rock bands."

"You're trying to change the subject."

"Only because I don't understand."

"I don't understand either exactly," Lewis admitted. "It's just…sometimes something about you catches me and…I have to say it."

Something about him? James mentally reviewed what he'd done today. It hadn't been very different from any other day…maybe a bit more singing and moving about to music, but…

Singing. And what might loosely be called dancing. Oh, no.

"I'm sorry," James said, feeling as though he were going to be sick. "It's my fault. I'm so sorry. I should've been more careful."

"Careful?" Now Lewis sounded completely confused.

"It's not you, I know, you can't help yourself. But I can stop it, I can, and then it won't matter any more…" He could hear his father's words now, clear as crystal-- _No one with veela blood ever had love that wasn't a trick or a theft…not one._ James had grown up certain of the truth of his father's statement, had taken that lesson to heart and had known, although his father had never said it, that it applied to James too.

"I might be able to follow this better if it actually made sense," Lewis said.

"It does make sense," James said miserably. "Only I've never shown any signs of it before, so I thought…"

"Sergeant, if you don't explain what you're on about in the next five minutes…"

"I'm part veela," James said.

Lewis scrunched his face a bit as he tried to work out what that meant. "Dunno where Veela is. And why does that matter?"

"Veela's not a place, sir; it's…it's a race of people, of…creatures."

Lewis gave him a skeptical look. "You're telling me you're a creature."

"No, I'm…part human at least. I don't know the details. It was seen as an embarrassment in my family so…no one ever discussed it. I don't know which of my family was full veela. It might even have been my mother, I suppose."

"Right," Lewis said. "You're only half mythical creature. That makes more sense anyway."

"No, sir, please, I'm not joking about this," James said. "Veela are like sirens. They enchant people. Mostly…mostly men."

Lewis was silent for what seemed a very long time. "You enchanted me?"

"Not on purpose!" This was all going horribly wrong. "The charm doesn't usually appear so late. I didn't think I had any." Although he had been painstakingly careful for years about not singing or dancing in front of anyone, in case he had been mistaken. "But I must. It was…that was what you responded to in the tea room, sir, and that's what you're responding to now. The charm, not me. But now that you know about it, it should stop working. That's what I've always been told." A trick or a theft. That was all it was. Not love. Never love.

There was another long silence from Lewis. "So you're half mythical creature with some sort of magic that makes men fall in love with you, and it must be working on me, except now it isn't cos you've told me about it."

"Yes."

Lewis sighed, a rueful smile on his face. "You could've just said you didn't fancy me."

James opened his mouth to protest…then closed it again. If that was what Lewis needed to believe, James would have to make the best of it.

***

They had cornered David Schama in an alley, but Schama had a knife, and he drew it on them.

"Put it down," Lewis said gently, taking a few tentative steps toward Schama.

Schama lunged at Lewis suddenly with the knife, and only Lewis's quick reflexes got him out of the way in time. James positioned himself in between Lewis and Schama, furious at this wanker who was trying to hurt his governor. He'd show him.

Lewis tried to get round James, but James's wings expanded to block his progress and…

…wait. Wings? He was veela enough to have wings when he was angry?

James could feel his body writhing in anger, changing, his face changing, and he opened his mouth and _shrieked_ like a bird of prey.

Schama fainted.

James turned, anger abating quickly as it had come, scaled wings shrinking as they folded neatly against his back. Lewis was staring at him, wide-eyed.

"Mythical creature, you said?" Lewis asked, voice very quiet.

James had to wait till his beak was gone to speak. "We're called veela."

Lewis nodded. "Once we've got Schama in custody…I think you'd better explain it to me again."

James smiled as the last of his wings disappeared. "As many times as you need."

***

Later, when they were down the pub, James explained it all again, and Lewis believed it this time.

"I still don't understand what you meant about 'veela charm,'" Lewis protested. "You can really interest people in you by…singing or dancing?"

"Sir, if you'd seen my dancing, you'd know magic is the only way dancing would make me attractive to anyone," James said.

Lewis chuckled. "But it doesn't work when you're not doing either of those things?"

"It still works on people I haven't told about it," James said, sounding as disgruntled as he felt. "I've got it operating at as low a level as I can. I'd turn it off if I could."

Lewis nodded. "What happens when you keep it turned down?"

"In the absence of any other information, people might like me without quite knowing why. Not romantically, just in a general sense."

Lewis hesitated. Then, softly, he said, "I like you without the singing. And not in a general sense."

James's heart thudded in his ears. "Do you?"

Lewis nodded.

James reached over and touched Lewis's hand. "I like you too."

"Without the singing?" Lewis joked.

"With the singing."

Lewis gave James a dubious look. "You've never heard me sing."

"I'd like to," James said. "Safer if you do it than if I do it."

Lewis smiled. "We'd have to be alone."

James smiled back. "That could be arranged."

Lewis's smile faltered for a moment. "This isn't…pity, is it? Because if it is…"

"No," James said, squeezing Lewis's hand. "Definitely not pity."

The smile Lewis gave him was a reward in itself. And…maybe, just maybe, someone who was part veela could find love that wasn't a trick or a theft after all.


End file.
